As Vladimir Putin rubs shoulders with Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi in Beijing, the West’s failure to force Russia into peace in Ukraine has rarely been portrayed more starkly. Despite sanctions threats, neither China nor India has shown any sign of curtailing trade with Russia, and in response to Donald Trump’s decision to single out Delhi for additional tariffs over its dealings in Russian energy, Prime Minister Modi appears to be looking elsewhere for diplomatic cover.

To discuss how Moscow can benefit from strengthening these alliances, Victoria and Vitaly are joined by pre-eminent Russia expert, Fiona Hill, who is currently a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution - a Washington-based foreign policy think tank. She gives her take on the state of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, and what the US and Europe might do next.

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Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

The producers were Laurie Kalus and Julia Webster. The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The social producer was Grace Braddock. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

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